Comfort
by skyfireflight16
Summary: Raven/OC friendship fic. A sixth titan thinks about her relationship with Raven and the titans as a whole. Not as boring as it may sound. Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **

**Hey guys! This is my first Teen Titans fan-fiction. This story has been rolling around in my head for days now, so finally I'm getting it out. It turned out longer than I expected, but I guess that's just as well. I feel like some parts of it didn't flow very well, so you'll have to tell me if I did a good job or not. No flames, please. Oh and...**

**1) the OC is a girl**

**2) There is no slash here whatsoever. Period.**

**3) I don't own the Teen Titans. Trust me, if it did, "Things Change" would never have happened. Or it would have been dramatically different. And the series would have continued. Okay, I'll stop now.**

* * *

**IMPORTANT:**_  
_

_Thoughts _(These should be read together, when in the same time-frame)

Present Events

_**Events not in the present **_(These may either be in the past or the future. I'll let you guess)

* * *

**A Teen Titans Fanfiction**

**Comfort**

_I know there's nothing there. _

It's a tough opponent. We've been fighting for what seems like forever, though I suppose once it's over with it'll turn out to have been less than twenty minutes.

That's close enough to forever, in this case.

The creature's long, gooey, snake-like arm whips out toward me, intending to snatch me out of the sky. I fly out of the way, shooting a blast of fire from my hands. It hits its target, and the creature roars with pain, curling its tentacle-arm back away from me and closer to the bloated, disgusting mass that serves as its body.

It has other "arms", though. Plenty of them. Another one rushes at me from my right, coming in from behind. I just see it out of the corner of my eye as it hurls toward me, but the fight's been exhausting and I'm already injured, so I'm not able to move out of the way fast enough. I let out a cry of fear and disgust as the monster's slimy, strong, snake-like arm hits my back and wraps around my midsection in a mushy, crushing, vice-like grip. With an enormous amount of force, I'm thrown from the air, traveling at least thirty feet before I actually start falling.

By that time, the monster's already moving in my direction, chasing after the other titans while simultaneously trying to fend off their attacks. Why'd it have to be in MY direction? Seriously, it's like this creature has it in for me, or something.

Pain slams into me as my body collides with the pavement at break-neck speed. I didn't break anything, thank God; I know this because I can still move my limbs. But my head hurts like crazy, and the pain in my arm and ankle sure makes it feel like I did. Gasping, I push up with my arms and bend my knees, bringing myself to a sitting position.

But my body's still reeling from the fall, and moving too much makes my head pound even more and the pain in my ankle and arm flair and black and white dots dance in front of my eyes, so I can only scoot backward two feet before I'm forced to stop moving. I close my eyes for a brief second and take a deep breath, then blink rapidly, trying to get those pesky black and white fireflies to disappear from my vision.

_It is Raven we're talking about, after all._

Finally, my vision clears. I'm exhausted and my whole body throbs. Looks like I'm not going to be much help for the rest of this battle. Luckily, I won't have to be. I hear another roar from the monster and look up in that direction. The rest of my friends are already bringing the creature down; the fight is pretty much over.

Thank Heaven.

And another thing to be thankful for: my fall has not gone unnoticed. I hear one of the titans shout something. Too far away to hear clearly, and my mind is too fuzzy to tell who it is. Robin, maybe, or Cyborg? Not Cy; I'm pretty sure the voice was too high pitched to be his. Starfire? Meh…what's it matter, anyway…? Hey, where'd Raven go?

I let out a soft moan. I still haven't moved more than two feet from where I've landed. Maybe I should try to move closer to my friends…it wouldn't hurt to try. Scratch that…it might. But, like I said, my fall did not go unnoticed.

Before I can attempt to move again, I feel the air slightly stir. Raven lands behind me, her feet touching down on the pavement so softly that it barely makes a sound. She kneels down beside and lightly touches my shoulder, before she sweeps out her cloak, and I'm engulfed in dark energy.

_But the way she wraps her cloak around me, and holds me close – it brings me comfort somehow. Maybe it's because I was hugged and held so much by my mother when I was a child. To me, there's something about hugs that say "I love you, you're mine, I want you close to me. I'm here with you, you're not alone; you're safe, and everything's going to be okay". _

She travels in her form of a small, black bird – the raven that she is named for. She flies us toward the Tower, whizzing past buildings and maneuvering through a maze of skyscrapers. Taking us home.

_But I know it's not that way here. She's only doing it for a practical purpose. It is Raven, after all. _

_**I sit at the edge of my bed as I tell my story. Raven is sitting beside me, but I'm not looking at her. As I talk, I stare down at my feet, which swing every once in a while. I don't look up, and keep my head down, for fear of ridicule**_

_because I don't know the borders. Most of the time I'm in my world, my small inner circle of interaction. I know the borders there – what can and cannot be said, what is okay and what is too far. And when someone enters my world, I have no problem kindly showing them what they are._

_But I'm in Raven's world now, and I don't know the borders. I'm just so used to being alone, being by myself for so much of my life, that when I finally come out of my shell, when I step out of my world and into another's world, or into the public world where all my friends interact with each other, I have trouble navigating. Because when I go, I go in blind._

_I can't see the borders there; I don't know where the lines are to see where I should move so I won't cross them. The boundaries that say how much I can talk about one subject before the others get tired of it and think I'm annoying, or how much another person is willing to help me and do things for me before they get frustrated or think I'm pathetic._

_**But Raven's still sitting here, just listening quietly and intently, while I stare at my feet, speaking my heart to her with stumbling words. Maybe it's because she's had a rough life and dark secrets, too; though mine are not as severe as hers.**_

_That's why, when I'm talking with the rest of the titans, I'm sometimes very quiet, and on occasion, loud and out spoken. _

_**We stand at the door of the living room, all six of us, talking and laughing. In reality, though, there should be seven of us. But I won't think about that now; the atmosphere is too happy for thoughts of her to sadden it. We just took down a super tough villain, one that's been on the loose and terrorizing the city for months, and now we're going to celebrate.**_

_Because I've stepped out of my world and into the public world, and I'm not sure how to navigate it. I'm not sure what I can say or what I can tell them, and they be willing to listen and not think I'm strange._

_**I join in the joyful conversation, my words coming out nervously and hesitantly at times. I let Starfire hug me and twirl me around in her unbridled happiness. Not that I mind. I take a glance toward Raven. She's playfully arguing with Beast Boy about something**_

_and I know I shouldn't want her special attention. Really, I shouldn't. Because I'm not special, not in any way that the rest of my friends aren't. I don't know why I look for it, why I want it so bad. _

_Maybe it's because I'm drawn to her_, _because, in a way, she's kind of like me – quiet and reclusive for the most part, happy to spend all day reading a book, doesn't always exactly fit in with the world; a social misfit, used to being alone. _

_Maybe that's why – I want to reach out to her, to let her know that she's not alone, that she has someone like her. I guess I want to be special to those I'm drawn to – those who are special to me. But I shouldn't, not really. Because then I'll want to get treated differently – I'll hope for it, I'll expect it. But at the end of the day, she'll just treat me like everybody else, and when she does, I'll be hurt._

_I know, I know, I'm selfish, I'm selfish. And that knowledge makes me want to shrink back inside myself; say "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll go away now; I won't bother you anymore._

_And maybe it would be best if I stayed inside my shell. I couldn't be a bother to anyone then, I wouldn't have to worry about finding my way through the booby-trapped social maze._

_Or maybe not. I've been so used to being alone, but that doesn't mean I like it that way. Maybe…it's worth reaching out. I could always retreat, if it hurts – if I lose. Not like it hasn't happened before._

We're home now. Finally. Raven tells me that Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin are out getting pizza, celebrating their victory against that…yucky excuse for a life-form. Anyone who had to get slapped around by THAT thing definitely deserves a pizza party, in my opinion. Hopefully they'll save some for us. I'm sure they'll get it from Raven if they don't. Or from me, once I'm up to it.

In the meantime, I lean back on the couch, and Raven places her hands on my fractured arm, then my badly sprained ankle, her hands glowing a dull blue-purple color as she heals each injury in turn. I sigh, relief washing over me as the pain disappears underneath her soothing touch.

_I know there's no affection in it._

Now that the pain is no longer there for my mind to focus on, I feel…so…tired…. Maybe…I could just close my eyes…for a second. But I really, should…go to bed…. Hmm…what's moving me….?

_It is Raven, after all – but even so. Really, there's something comforting about all this._

* * *

**So...what do you guys think? Oh, and a question for the reviewer: if I added a section to this story with Raven's point of view, would you read it?**


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! Here's the second part, in Raven's point of view

Thank you to bloomscool and AyanoUchiha for reviewing. :) You guys didn't answer my question, though...

Anyway, on with the story!

Edit 8/27/2013: So, I went back over this and found quite a few errors. Oops. Here's the edited version. :)

* * *

IMPORTANT:

_Thoughts_ (some should be read separately, and others together. I think you can figure it out.)

Normal

_**Past events being told in the present tense**_

* * *

**Raven**

**...**

I hold her, cradled in my arms – right where she fell asleep. She must've passed out from exhaustion, I tell myself. Couldn't have been from pain; I took care of that already. It's amazing she stayed awake as long as she did, considering everything.

The fight was rough, and we all got knocked around pretty hard. The youngest and smallest of the group, though, seemed to be getting the worst of it, the creature swiping its ooze-dripping tentacles at _her_ about 50% of the time. A lot, considering there are six of us.

Dodging the plethora of wildly waving, slimy arms, while at the same time trying to land an attack on the thing, was incredibly tiring in and of itself – and that's _without _being injured. She got injured about halfway through.

After dodging one of the monster's arms, I moved an empty car from the street – hopefully the owner had villain insurance – and threw it at its body. It didn't even make a dent. My eyes widened in shock as the creature absorbed the car into its body, looking for a moment like a piece of fruit stuck in Jell-O. A moment later, the creature spit the car out. I gasped as the vehicle was sent careening my direction.

You had to be kidding me. What kind of creature DID that?

"RAVEN! Look out!" The smallest of our group called out to me. Before I could react to her warning, the young girl flew to my side, and a shimmering, red-orange shield of fire-energy particles appeared in front of me. The vehicle collided with the shield with an enormous amount of force, and despite the girl's best efforts, the shield broke, and the car fell past us.

Well, almost past us. On its way to the ground below, the vehicle caught my friend in the side. I grimaced at the sight; that _had _to hurt. The impact sent her tumbling through the air head-over-heels, before she managed to get back control and right herself. She rubbed her side for a moment, then went flying off to try to land another attack on the monster.

Another gooey tentacle lashed out at me. I dodged it just in time, only to have another one of the creature's arms send an eighteen-wheeler soaring toward me. I flew out of the way and caught the truck with my powers, quickly setting it on the ground.

Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the young curly-haired titan. Caught in the maze of swinging tentacles, the girl was harshly slammed against the wall of a nearby brick building, some of the brick crumbling at the impact. I heard her cry out, and winced. I suspect that that's where her ankle got sprained, and was worsened only a few minutes later when she got thrown out of the sky at least at 50 miles per hour. That was quite a fall.

My right hand moves to her head, and I gently brush through the hair there, checking for any bumps or tender spots I might have missed. It's a wonder she didn't get a concussion from hitting the ground so hard. My eyes narrow; now that I think about it, the monster really _did_ seem to be mostly after her. Even after she went down, the creature continued in her direction, swiping at us as if we were annoying insects – mere distractions.

It could be a coincidence – or it could be important. I tuck it in the back of my mind, just in case it needs to be looked into later.

Starfire was the first to notice she was down. She gasped – a high-pitched, fearful sound – and then her eyes gained that familiar, determined, angry look. It was clear that Starfire had had enough. "Hi-_yah_!" Green, high-voltage laser beams shot from the Tamaranian's eyes in her righteous fury, striking the creature dead center.

The monster roared in pain. Her energy blast had created a blackened, steaming hole in the clear-blue goo of its body. As more goo slowly started filling in the gap, it dawned on me: _that had actually damaged it_. Star and I made eye contact, both getting the same idea. She powered up a starbolt and blasted the creature with it, me using my powers in combined force with hers to channel the strike directly into the thing's center.

Below us, Cyborg must've gotten what we going after, because he shot a high-energy blast with his sonic cannon at the monster, right where Starfire and I had moments before. The creature roared and swiped at us with its slimy tentacles, but not with as much speed or force as before. The monster was finally weakening. After that, it took less than half a minute before we took the creature down and left the rest to the authorities.

We spotted our youngest friend sitting on the ground about 50 feet away, clearly in bad shape. Someone yelled out her name. "Hey, she's hurt! We need to get her home." The shout came from Beast Boy, who, as always, seemed to feel the overwhelming need to state the obvious.

"I'll do it." I said, my voice conveying my concern. I was eager to go check on her, to make sure she was okay. "You guys go ahead. We'll meet you back home." So, as the others went to our usual spot at the pizza place, I quickly flew down to the injured girl, landing behind her. I knelt down beside her and put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to glance up at me. One look at her eyes, glassy with pain and exhaustion, confirmed my suspicion. No way was she flying home on her own; not in this condition.

I folded my cloak around her, wrapping her in dark energy, before assuming my bird form and taking off toward the Tower. This was the safest and fastest way to get her home. The sooner we got there, the better.

_I'm here. You're going to be okay._

She was still awake when we got home, but by the time I had deposited her on the couch, explained where the others had gone, and healed her injuries, the curly-haired titan was already falling asleep. I sat on the couch next to her and wrapped my arms around her, repositioning the girl so that she was laying on my lap.

_There, that's better, isn't it?_

I could tell myself that I don't really know why I'm doing this, or that it's just practical, playing the "good friend" role – it's been what I've been telling myself for years, having to keep myself from feeling much of anything – but it wouldn't be true.

I look at the sleeping girl in my arms, and though I'd never admit it to anyone, not even to her –at least not in the near foreseeable future –

_she's like a little sister to me. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, I feel more of a connection with her than the others. _

_I mean, sure, there's Starfire – being the only other girl of the team. And while we've gotten closer ever since that incident with the Puppet King and the "Val-Yor" episode, and I do give in to her insistence for doing "the hanging out" with her every once in a while, we still don't really "click" – her bubbly, overly-emotional personality tends to clash with mine, to say the least._

_And then there are the boys. Cyborg – he's like an older brother, but then again, he's that way with everyone. Nothing special there. _

_Beast Boy – I got to hand it to him; he never gives up on trying to make me laugh, every once in a while trying to get me out of my shell. True, I can get a little protective of him – he is the little brother of the group – but, as with Starfire, there isn't a huge amount of "the chemistry" between us, as she once put it._

_And Robin – when it comes to knowing how to deal with my quirks, and how to make me feel better about myself, he knows better than anyone. We also have a loose empathic bond, from the time when I was inside his mind. But when it comes to interaction between us, there isn't much._

_And then there's her, the smallest and youngest of them all. She's the one I feel that I can most relate to. Maybe it's because, in a lot of ways, we're alike. She is a quiet one – keeps to herself for the most part, doesn't have much to do with the public world. _

_There are times, though, when she, like the others, tries to pull me from my habitual seclusion. Only she does it differently – she doesn't try entice me out of my room and get me to join her with movies, or video games, or sports – Beast Boy and Cyborg seem to consider their invented game "Stank Ball" a sport, God help us all – or a trip to the mall to do girly stuff which, though I agree to it sometimes, I'm not really interested in._

_Instead, she comes to me, to my world – shyly at first, almost as if it's booby-trapped or something. _

_Although I'm sure it is, at least in Beast Boy's thinking._

_**I'm sitting on the roof, reading the new book I just got yesterday. Really, the roof is the only place I can get some peace and quiet around here. Even my room isn't a safe place today, what with Cyborg and Beast Boy playing video games with the sound on full blast, and Starfire – bless her heart – knocking on my door every few minutes.**_

_**It's a bit windy today, so I have to pin down the pages with a little extra weight from my fingers to keep the pages from fluttering in the wind, but at least now I can focus without constant interruption. My eyes are riveted to the pages, flipping back and forth as I'm drawn into the story. I'm just getting to the part where they're about to reveal –.**_

**Creeeak.**_** The soft squeal of the door opening breaks my focus. I look up from the book, ready to tell whoever is interrupting me just to leave me alone for crying out loud, and do I have to go to another dimension to keep you guys from bothering me? – until I see who it is. **_

_**Oh, it's the new girl. I try to think of a diplomatic way to tell her to go away; she's a sensitive thing – the last time I spoke harshly to her, she cried, and I do **_**not **_**want a repeat of that. Then I get a full look at her, and notice that she's holding a book in her hand. My demeanor softens, and I relax a little as it dawns on me: she didn't come to interrupt me after all, but to join me. **_

_**The girl slowly shuts the door behind her so that it closes with a barely perceptible **_**click**_**, and cautiously steps onto the roof. With soft, hesitant steps, she comes toward me and sets herself down next to me, leaving about a foot of space between us. "So…" she says quietly, taking the fact that I've stopped reading as an opportunity to talk to me, "what are you reading?"**_

_**I hide my surprise – no one's ever shown interest in my books before. So I tell her – might as well – explaining that it's the third book in a series, and I was just getting to the part where some big secret was going to be revealed.**_

"_**Cool," she says. "Sounds really interesting. I'm barely at the beginning of mine. It's the second book in the series, about this government that controls everything, even where you live, who you marry, and when you die. It's kinda like a love story, where this girl is matched to one person but falls in love with someone else."**_

"_**I'm not really into love stories." I tell her. I don't even want to touch one after what happened with Malchior.**_

"_**I'm not really into love stories either," she answers, surprising me – again, "If it's just a love story. But this one has more than that. It's more rebelling and taking down a system that tries to control you and take away your free will, and being who **_**you**_** want to be, being able to decide your own destiny. It just has some love mixed in."**_

_**That sparks my interest. Being able to control your own destiny. Sounds good to me…if only.**_

_**A few moments pass in silence, with us just sitting there, but neither of us start reading again. And then:**_

"_**Raven?"**_

"_**Yeah?"**_

"_**When you're…when you're done with your book, do you think I could borrow it?"**_

_**The surprises just keep coming.**_

"_**Sure," I reply, "why not?" I get an idea. "Maybe we could trade, and I'll borrow your book when you're done."**_

_**Her voice gets slightly higher pitched, her happiness showing. "Yeah, sure." Then, as if by silent agreement, we go back to our books.**_

_We've done that several times since then. It's become a habit almost. We sit together on the roof, or in the living room when it's quiet enough, and read our books. She's even gone to the bookstore with me on more than one occasion, each of us sharing our interests with the other. It was different, and it did take a little getting used to, from being alone most of the time. But I have to admit it – it's nice to have someone to share those things with, to have someone who has things in common with me. That someone cares enough to bother reaching out to me the way that she does._

_And we do have a lot in common. More than I realized at first._

_**It's Friday: movie night. Starfire picked the movie; I'm seriously hoping it's one of those light-hearted children's films that she sometimes chooses, as opposed to the disgustingly in-depth "What They Don't Want You to Know About **__**_**__**" (and really, WE don't want to know, either), documentaries that she often forces us to sit through. I inwardly shudder at the thought; that last one made me lose my appetite until Sunday at lunchtime.**_

_**Robin is already at his seat, for once, sitting next to a super-excited Starfire, who, as usual, can't stop chattering. I guess now that Slade's gone for good, Robin feels he can relax more and take a break from almost constantly being on edge – as much as a relief for us as it is him, considering how wired Robin can get. So, he's not the one we have to hunt down and drag to the living room this time, for a change.**_

_**In order not to interrupt Starfire and Robin's lively conversation, Cyborg and I volunteer to go find our AWOL team members. Cyborg goes to pull a moping Beast Boy out of his room – something about losing a tofu-related bet and/or challenge, or maybe it was a videogame boss and/or high score; I really don't pay attention to that sort of thing – leaving it up to me to fetch our newest teammate.**_

_**I turn down the hallway and walk toward her room. As I approach the door, my eyes narrow; something's not quite right. Nothing of the dangerous sort, just something a little…off. When I stop in front of her door, I can hear muffled sounds coming from inside, and I immediately understand. **_

_**She's crying.**_

_**For a moment I consider leaving her alone and walking away, just going back to the living room and telling the rest of my friends that she needs some time to herself and that we'll have to watch the movie without her this time.**_

_**But something stops me from turning away. For one, I'm fairly sure – if Starfire chose what I think she did, judging by the conversation she was having with Robin when Cyborg and I left the room – that she'll enjoy this movie, and as one of the few free-time activities we all do together on a regular basis, movie night is thought of as pretty important.**_

_**But that's not the main reason I'm still hesitating in front of her door. This girl that I've known for such a short time in comparison to the others – she's already like family. I can't just leave her alone like this; I need to find out what's wrong, to comfort her, if I can.**_

_If she reaches out to me, I can reach out to her._

_**I knock on her door, which happens to be locked, and call out her name. No answer. Not surprising, considering the circumstances. So I bypass the door and teleport to the middle of her room. I spot her in a corner to the left. She's curled up in a fetal position, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees, sobbing her heart out. The sight is heartbreaking.**_

_**I walk forward and kneel in front of the crying girl. "Hey," I ask gently, "what's wrong?"**_

_**She just shakes her head.**_

"_**Come on, you and I both know that's not true. Tell me." **_

_She tucks her sadness away for the most part, deals with it alone, not going to anyone. Everyone can tell something's wrong, but she refuses to elaborate even when asked, or denies it, unless someone insists, or her barriers are too weak for her to put up to much of a fight._

_I'm that way, too._

"_**I c-couldn't s-save her." She sobs, her voice choked with tears. "I…I t-tried…."**_

_**She's talking about Terra.**_

_**It's been a little more than a week since she turned to stone.**_

_**Lord knows what that rock-thrower has put us all through. Even so, though, I can't bring myself to hate her, not anymore. As much as I wanted to believe it, as much as I said it out loud, I know Terra was never **_**truly**_** evil. And her sacrifice at that volcano redeemed her to all of us. We all lost someone that day. **_

_**The young titan in front of me has taken it especially hard, even more than Beast Boy – which is really saying something. Beast Boy just drowned his sorrows in a never-ending cycle of movies, videogames, TV, and combat practice – half of the course needed to be rebuilt after the shape-shifter was done with it – whereas she became even more quiet and withdrawn, spending most of the day in her room; crying, probably, though this is the first time it's been loud enough for me to hear her. It took nearly all of us to pry her out of the Tower to get pizza yesterday – her insisting that she wasn't hungry and just wanted to have some time alone – which is one of her favorite things to do, and even then, she wasn't herself.**_

_**And she did try to save her; more than all of us. I know she had some sort of past with Terra, though I'm not really sure what the connection is between them.**_

_She's got her secrets, too. I guess we all do, but…from the way she acts…and from my powers…and maybe because I am, too…I know she's hiding something – something bad. _

"_**I know you did, I know," I say, keeping my voice soft. "In the end, though, she made her choice. There was nothing anyone could do."**_

"_**That…d-doesn't make it…better." And she's right; no matter whose choice it was, the loss, pain – it's still there.**_

"_**I know it doesn't. I know." I take her hands in mine, unclenching them from around her knees. She raises her head and looks up at me, her tear-filled golden-brown eyes gazing into mine. "But hey, she's not gone for good. We'll find a way to reverse the effect. I don't know how, but we will. We'll bring her back someday. Alright?"**_

_**Her crying has almost stopped now, with her breathing almost normal and just a few runaway tears making their way down her cheeks. "You promise?" she asks, her shaky voice almost a whisper.**_

_**I nod, my face turning solemn in sincere confirmation. "I promise." She emits one last shuddering sob, and her tears have now stopped completely. I change the subject to what I originally came here for. "Starfire picked a movie I think you'll like. Were all in the living room now. Want to watch it with us?" **_

_**She nods her head, wiping her eyes. I help her up, and she follows me out the door.**_

My legs are starting to get numb. I'm not sure how long I have been sitting here, with me just holding her while she sleeps. I should probably take her to bed now.

Shifting my position slowly so I don't wake her up, I slip one arm underneath her knees and get up from the couch, lifting her up bridal style. She's small and light enough for me to carry without any trouble. She looks so fragile; no one would ever guess how powerful she is. Then again, the only one of us who actually _looks_ powerful is Cyborg. Well, Robin, too, if you give him some leeway.

I take her to her room, using my powers to open the door and fold down the covers on her mattress. I settle her into her bed, taking off her shoes and setting them down on the floor beside it. As I'm pulling the blanket up over her, I hear the sound of the door slamming downstairs. The others have returned. I tuck the blanket around the girl's shoulders and then go to meet them, shutting the door of my young friend's room behind me. They'd better have saved some pizza for us, or else….

No "or else" necessary; they saved us a slice each, and even got another entire pizza – at Starfire's insistence, apparently. I make a mental note to say "yes" the next time she wants to hang out or go to "the mall of shopping"; I owe her one. The four of them come in laughing and exchanging playful banter, and we all sit down on the couch in the main room, me eating my slice of pizza while the boys do a lively play-by-play of how we "totally kicked that slime-monster's butt!". I can't help but smile at their antics.

_**The last day…the end of the world. I knew this day would come, but…it doesn't make it any easier. My friends…there must be a way for me to make their last day perfect – to, in some small way, somehow make up for the fact that this will all be my fault.**_

_**I start by making breakfast for them. This would be so much easier if I actually KNEW how to cook…I'm pretty sure pancakes aren't supposed to look like this. I flip one over with my powers. Maybe I should have added some more milk, or sugar. Eggs, too…do eggs go in pancakes?**_

_**My thoughts are interrupted when I hear someone come up behind me. It's the curly-haired brunette. She stands beside me, surveying the scene, and when I glance in her direction, I can see a hint of laughter eyes, and…is that sympathy? Darn it, I'm supposed to be giving them a good day, not a reason to feel sorry for me!**_

"_**Whatcha makin'?" she asks finally, after a few minutes of just watching me. **_

"_**Pancakes." I mutter. "At least that's what they're supposed to be…."**_

"_**Mind if I help you? My mom made pancakes every once in a while, and I still remember the recipe. They were really good, and I think you'd like them. I could show you…you know, if you want." Some of the timidity from when she first joined us is still there. She probably thinks I'll turn her away.**_

_**I consider her offer for a moment. She **_**wants**_** to help me; she'll enjoy it. And it's obvious I need it, so…why not?**_

"_**Sure." I say. "That'd be nice."**_

_**She beams and takes her place at the stove. At least I'm doing something right today.**_

We hang out in the living room for an hour or two, before we all decide we should go to bed. When we check the time, it's barely past 8:30 – an early night for us, especially Cyborg, but I guess after everything that happened today, we all need the rest.

_**I hug Robin lightly around the neck in gratitude. After all that happened…after all I did – which could even be seen as betrayal – he believed in me. They believed in me.**_

"_**Welcome back," he says, and returns the hug.**_

"_**Okay, you're freaking me out here!" Beast Boy, of course. Robin releases the hug, and I turn to look at Beast Boy. He's waving his arms around comically. "The white robe and smile are weird enough but…**_**hugs**_**?! Are you still…**_**you**_**?**_

_**So that's what he's worried about.**_

"_**Blue is still my favorite color." I assure him. "And don't get used to the smile," I replace my smile with a firm look. "'cause you're **_**still**_** not funny."**_

_**He gasps, probably miffed by me saying he wasn't funny. Then his eyes widen and gets this huge grin on his face, and without warning, he flings himself at me.**_

_**Oh, boy.**_

"_**RA-VEN!" He cries happily. His arms are wrapped around my shoulders in a near vice-like grip.**_

_**Okay, I did hug Robin, but that doesn't mean I'm ready to be squeezed half to death by a happy-go-lucky green shape-shifter.**_

"_**Quit it." I tell him.**_

"_**Oh, come on, Rae." The youngest of our group pleads. She uses my nickname a bit hesitantly, as I might not approve. Not that she should be worried about that. "You scared us; we were so close to losing you! Can't we hug you, just this once?"**_

_**I sigh. She's got a point there. "Oh, alright. But –."**_

_**My words get cut off as the young girl laughs in joy and wraps her arms around me. The rest of the gang, except Robin, soon follows suit. Now I'm the center of a big group hug. **_

_**Oh, joy.**_

_**I roll my eyes and make a face, but inwardly, I really don't mind having to put up with this. It's kind of reassuring – brings me comfort, in a way. After all I've done, after they know who I really am, they still care, are still willing to put themselves on the line to fight for me, to bring me back. **_

_They're not afraid of me. They still love me._

…_and I'm so glad no one can read my mind right now._

I leave the living room and head to my room. But as I pass the hall to her room, I frown, a sense of unease overtaking me. Something is wrong.

So I take a detour and go to her room. Opening the door, which I left unlocked, I spot her in bed, right where I left her. Only now she's tossing and turning, thrashing slightly at the blankets, whimpering in her sleep. It's not hard to figure out what's going on.

She's having a nightmare.

This is not the first time this has happened. On several occasions, I've found her like this, being plagued by fearful dreams.

I don't want to wake her up now; the poor thing's tired enough as it is, and who knows if she'll be able to go back to sleep if I do. So instead I sit on her bed; I gently catch her flailing hands in mine, stilling her movements, and whisper words of reassurance: shhh, it's okay, you're safe, don't be afraid, it's only a dream.

She's never told be what her nightmares are about, and I've never asked. I don't know if I'll ever ask; if it's bad enough for her to live through it in her mind, she definitely won't want to talk about it, to put in into words, make it more real. Who knows what is that haunts her.

I could peer into her mind right now, if I wanted to – but no, it's not my right. Whatever it is, she doesn't want anyone to know, and I couldn't betray her trust like that.

_Maybe that's why she's stolen my heart; why she is to me the little sister I've never had. She's a kindred spirit, in way. Quiet and withdrawn, uncomfortable with the public world around us. Having dark secrets that torment us deep inside. Maybe that's why she's special to me._

She's stopped tossing, but her whimpering cries are still there. I keep talking softly to her, and brush her hair away from her face in what I hope is a soothing gesture. Eventually she calms, and settles back into a peaceful sleep.

_But one thing I know for certain: all deeply hidden secrets eventually come to light. And when the time comes for her to tell, when whatever she's hiding comes to the surface in whatever way it may – I will be there for her. _

_We're not alone in that._

I ease myself off the bed, then lean down and kiss her softly on the forehead – if she ever notices this and mentions it, I'll deny it. I pause at the door as I walk out, and whisper goodnight in the air in her direction. Then I close the door as softly as I can, and head to my room.

_It's a comforting thought._

* * *

That's it, folks! My first complete fanfiction, yay! This part was a bit harder to write. Hopefully Raven isn't OOC here. Anyway, tell me what you think!


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